Brownie points for anybody who can tell me the origin of this chapter's antagonist's name. (In other words, brownie points for anybody who can use Google.)

Anywhoo, credit for the bulk of this chapter goes to MultiplePersonas, with 7th Librarian and myself providing the interludes. Enjoy!

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Choices-they define who we are, what we do, and ultimately what we become. The universe is chaotic, but it's how you react that defines you. Every choice, no matter how small, is a microcosm of you as a person. Every choice opens up a new future. Somewhere down the line, I made a wrong choice (who hasn't?), and now I have an angry girlfriend, two spirits whispering in my ear, a recurring nightmare, and a powerful fiend standing before me. Now, I'm offered with choices that could fix everything, or doom us all.

What should I do?

What would you do?

Don't answer too quickly-there's a lot at stake.

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Chapter 36

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Tainted Wisdom

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"We can't just stand here forever, Bruno!" Rebecca complained. "Every second counts!"

"Don't blame me!" Bruno snapped. "Pegasus is the one who made this needlessly complicated!"

The group was still standing in front of the two chutes, the spirits of Alice and Pegasus still pondering over which chute led to the hidden vault and which to a steep drop to the ocean.

Give me a break! Pegasus complained. It's been decades since I used it! Now, let's see...was it right, because that's right? Or left because that's where your heart is and you always want to follow your heart? Or right because I'm right-brained? Left because that's where I left my things?

Every one of those is just so stupid, Bruno thought at him.

You make me ashamed to originate from your soul, Alice told him with a glare.

Hey, you were part of me when I made this! What's your excuse for not remembering? Pegasus demanded.

It was a long time ago! Alice snapped.

How existential can they get? Bruno thought.

Oh, of course, now I remember! Pegasus whooped. It's the left, because that's where my Millennium Eye was placed!

Are you sure? Bruno and Alice asked.

Mostly. Like, eighty, maybe eighty-five percent.

Bruno slapped his forehead and turned to Rebecca and Kyon. "Pegasus says it's almost definitely the left."

Rebecca and Kyon rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, I know. But it's our best hope. Now hop in and keep your legs straight so you don't break them if he's wrong."

Grumbling, Bruno hoisted his fat form to the chute on the left and slid down, feet-first. Alice and Pegasus were pulled down with him as if on leashes.

"Just to be safe, I think I'll listen for a splash," Kyon sighed. Rebecca nodded in agreement.

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"I'm telling you, I'm not going to run across the ice to duel the evil tentacle-lady in the fanged clamshell!"

"Look, Hakozaki, we need to shut down that portal. I can cast the counter-spell that'll do that," Grey insisted to the beanie-wearing Blue Knight huddled with him down behind a boulder. Well, it wasn't a boulder as it was just a conveniently shaped jet of frozen water. "But only while she's not looking, so I can't duel her and do that."

"Why not just cast magic on her?" Hakozaki insisted, jabbing a finger in the direction of their target.

"I did and she laughed it off!" Greg snapped. "That's why we're hiding behind this ice!"

"Is that what you're doing?" A snickering voice called from a distance. "You're not very good at it, are you?"

Both men's eyes widened and then Greg yanked the Blue Knight down by the collar as a thorn-covered tentacle speared through the ice right where their heads had been. A few more followed and then they all sheared the ice boulder in half like hot knives through butter.

"Christ on a bike, what is she!?" Hakozaki scrambled backwards as the tentacles lashed into the ground, one narrowly missing his leg.

"She's trouble!" Greg flipped to his feet, both hands alight with a orange-yellow glow. Tentacles cracked for him from all directions, but his hands blurred and batted them all away. There was petulant shriek and the tentacles all retreated hastily, their ends limp and broken-looking.

"Whoa!?" Hakozaki stared at Greg as he got to his feet. "You know kung fu?"

"Actually, yes. I've done some training under grugach monks." Greg frowned at the look the other man was giving him. "Firearms are restricted in Canada and I can't just go carrying around a sword!"

Hakozaki pointed back at the forest behind them. "But that Z guy had a sword…and a big pet cat."

"Well, I've got a pet hamster named Arturo, but he's back at home!" Greg huffed. "Can we please focus on the task at hand?"

The other duelist shrugged. "I'm still not going out there."

Greg bit his lower lip in frustration ,but let out a sigh and turned to face the shoreline. "I suppose it doesn't matter. She doesn't seem inclined to duel us, anyway."

"No, I don't!" 'She' reared up, seaweed wrapped body bending like a snakes as she balanced atop the car-sized clamshell. A dozen tentacles whirling and writhing in place of her arms, she hissed and cracked a new volley at Greg's way. "I'm going to kill you both!"

Greg's hands blurred and the tentacles when flying away just before they could strike. "Stay behind me!"

"Like I'm gonna go anywhere else!"

The Shadowchaser didn't bother to look to see if the Blue Knight was obeying, eyes focused out on the devil. Bad enough this portal was hidden underwater. But now we're stuck playing defensive. If I try and rush out there to kill her, she'll just shatter the ice under my feet and it'll be all over.

The devil let out another frustrated howl as she examined her broken tentacles before flexing them back to straightness and snapping them out. Ice creaked and shattered as she seized an ice pillar the size of small tree, tore it out of the frozen ocean and hurled it the two. "Just die already!"

Hakozaki's eyes bulged as the ice pillar's shadow fell across them. "Oh crap!"

Greg was already moving, half-pulling, half-dragging the Blue Knight behind him. The beach shook as the pillar crashed down. Then a second slammed into the beach in front of them and even as Greg wheeled around to spring for the forest, tentacles shot past him to either side and uprooted trees to bar that passage, too. "No escape, humans!"

"Now what?" Hakozaki asked as Greg shoved him into a corner of the little cell.

"You be quiet. I have to concentrate." Greg let out a deep breath, relaxing every muscle in his body. Then he closed his eyes and lifted both hands into a ready position in front of him.

"You can't block me forever!" The devil screeched as her tentacles ripped ice out of the ground all around her, jagged spear-like pieces that were bigger than their intended target.

Greg didn't seem to hear her as his breathing slowed a bit and the glow around his hands shifted to a sickly blue-orange. The air hissed as the tentacles all whipped towards him from all directions, a hydra of razor-sharp ice ready to turn him into a human pincushion.

A moment before impact, he clapped his palms together. A shockwave ringed out, sparking energy shattering the ice and leaving the tentacles reeling. He shot forwards, seizing one of them before it could retreat and the blue-orange light sparked noisily before shooting down the tentacle.

The devil's screech of agony reached ear-splitting levels as she and her clamshell coruscated with electricity. Several of the tentacles split down their lengths, steaming out ooze and ichor as she sagged over in a heap against the shell.

"Did...did you just electrocute her?" Hakozaki asked in awe.

"Yes." Greg dropped to one of his knees, feeling on fire and sweat pouring down his body despite the raging winter storm above. "Just...don't ask me to do it again anytime soon…"

"I thought you couldn't fight her!"

"I couldn't. I got really...lucky…" Greg swallowed a few gulps of air. "And now I'm spent. I'm going to need to rest before I can cast the counterspell to seal the portal and I have no idea how long that will take. Something else might come through."

"Oh. That's why I was supposed to duel her." Hakozaki winced.

"Uh-huh."

"You piece of filth…!"

Greg cursed under his breath, lifting his head to see the devil lifting herself up again. She was steaming from his attack still, wounds opened up over her body. But the tentacles were still twitching back to life and she was still angry. "I'm going to eat you both alive!"

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Bruno crossed his arms over his chest as he whooshed down the chute. His slide was at a steep thirty degree angle that shot him straight down. Time stood still for Bruno as he rushed down. Just how deep did this castle go, anyway?

His mind was put at ease when he finally hit bottom, landing on a small trampoline underneath the chute. With a laugh, he jumped off of it and called up to the others.

"It's okay!" he cried. "Still here, no splash! Pegasus was right!"

Pegasus crossed his arms. You don't have to sound so surprised, he sulked.

A moment later, Rebecca plunked down, followed shortly after by Kyon.

"Whew!" Kyon exhaled. "What a rush!"

"Fearing for your life does that," Bruno replied, without emotion. "Now, let's see what we might use here."

The trio split up around the vault, which was the size of a small house, and started examining everything. To their considerable disappointment, though, they found that Pegasus' most powerful magical artifacts were subpar at best: weak glamours, fake eyes that could really see, a few wands and staffs, and, more than the rest put together, hundreds upon hundreds of failed attempts to contact the dead. Shelves were lined with ouija boards, burnt incense, crystal balls. Then after all of that were more traditional items- rare artworks, statues, relics, tablets and stone carvings relating to Duel Monsters and a few gemstone encrusted chalices. Many of the relics included depictions of the Eye of Wdjat.

"Not that I'm complaining about Pegasus' tastes, " Kyon said, rummaging through a trunk of high-end clothing and examining it with a critical eye that suggested he was complaining about it. "But there's nothing in here that's really relevant to our situations. Beyond dressing up to look really fashionable when the world ends."

Bruno could only respond with a shrug and glance at Pegasus, who was busy boring a hole in a wall with his gaze. All that was there were a couple of decorative scepters. "Did you remember anything else?"

Rotate those to ten-twenty, the spirit instructed. Bruno nodded and moved the ornaments as he requested. The wall slid into itself, showing a secret compartment full of-

"Cards?" Bruno said, reaching in.

"Cool," Rebecca commented. "But will they help us?"

Some of them might, Pegasus explained. I infused a lot of cards with magic in my day-mostly to combat the God Cards should I ever face them. Problem is, I don't know exactly what we're facing.

Shame on you, Pegasus!, Alice tutted. Locking innocent card spirits in a vault!

Pegasus blushed, and Bruno, Rebecca, and Kyon each took handfuls of the cards and hurriedly sifted through them.

Keep what you like, Pegasus told them, and Kyon and Rebecca each gleefully pocketed a card. Just remember that they're your responsibility!

As the three ran their hands over the cards, every once in while they felt a little bit of magic. Some tickled, some stung, some warmed their hands, but each and every one of them felt far too weak for their purposes. Finally, Bruno stopped on one, his eyes drawn to the attractive image. "What's this one?" he asked, gaining the others' attention.

Rebecca, Kyon, Pegasus, and Alice joined him and examined his find.

"Looks pretty useful," Rebecca noted.

"And good in just about any deck," Kyon added, rubbing his chin.

"Pegasus," Bruno asked, "what sort of ritual did you use to make this?"

Pegasus just stared at the card, tapping a finger to his lips. Funny thing, Bruno-boy, he said. I don't recall making that one at all!

Bruno repeated his words to Rebecca and Kyon, and they both looked stunned. "So, what?" Kyon asked. "An ultra-powerful magical card just appeared in a safe in your vault?"

"I'm a Shadowchaser, Kyon. 'Strange' is in the job description." Bruno retorted, running his fingers over the card. "But this…"

Unsure of what else to do, Bruno pocketed the card, then turned to Pegasus. "Is this vault hiding anything else?" he asked.

Yes...and no. The game creator's face was drawn pensively. I don't recall installing a secondary room in the Vault, but I somehow know there's one there. And it's through this wall.

Bruno lifted an eyebrow. "That doesn't make sense."

Where would I be if everything I said and did made sense? Pegasus reminded him and gestured at the wall. I'm just telling you what we want is through there.

"This had better not be another slide trap…" Bruno muttered and approached the wall. He pressed his hands to the bricks carefully, but still nearly jumped as they folded away into each other at his touch to reveal a dark hallway beyond. "What the-!? There's not enough space for that to be here…"

"It's a pocket dimension, a duplicate of this room folded in on itself." Rebecca said, joining him in peering down its inky depths. "A dwarf I know has vault like this - everything in the 'real' one is fake while the pocket dimension had all the goodies."

Whatever it is, it's cold. Alice shivered, hugging herself. In the worst way.

There was a deep, icy sigh from the depths of the darkness. It left the three humans shivering as well and bits of frost licked the walls. And then, even more eerie than the cold and darkness was the sound. Within the room they could hear a violin playing classical music-and not just any music. This was a Tchaikovsky tune that Bruno and Rebecca both knew well, and Kyon had also heard before. A romantic waltz made for a certain Russian ballet, made famous by a certain Disney movie.

"Grande Valse Villageoise," Rebecca gasped. Tears welled up in their eyes.

"Once Upon a Dream," Bruno said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Kyon raised an eyebrow as he turned to Rebecca. "That's the song you chose when we-" He was abruptly cut off when Rebecca slapped a hand over his mouth, smiling nervously.

Bruno wasn't fooled. He cast a wicked glare at the two. "Oh, you didn't!" he snarled. Rebecca blushed. "You did, didn't you? You did it with him!?"

Kyon backed up, throwing Rebecca behind him as he held up his hands, trying to diffuse the situation. "No, no! I swear, I'd never do that! All we did was-"

"YOU WALTZED WITH ANOTHER MAN!"

Kyon's jaw nearly hit the floor. He went limp, and Rebecca easily shoved him aside, glaring right back at Bruno. "That's right!" she said, poking her finger into the overweight Shadowchaser's soft chest. "We waltzed, and it was great! One of the best I've ever had, in fact!"

"Oh, like I believe that! It took us weeks to match our rhythm!"

"Well, maybe he's just better than you!" She seized one of Kyon's arms. "See those biceps! Those are the arms of a man who can lead!"

"Don't try to body-shame me! You told me yourself that I was the only dance partner for you! Now you just pick up some random lycanthrope?"

"Well, you hadn't done it with me in months! Contrary to what you may think, the world doesn't revolve around you! I have needs, too!"

"And this is how you communicate them!? Couldn't you just have anonymous sex like a normal person!?"

At this comment, Kyon finally found his voice. "Listen to yourselves!" he cried, throwing his hands in the air. "This is no time for petty bickering!"

"There's nothing petty about it!" Bruno growled. "Waltzing is how we merge not just our bodies, but our souls! Two people become one! I cannot forgive such infidelity!"

"I don't care!" Kyon snapped. "You two can work out your differences on your own time! Right now, we have a mission!"

"Yes, and I'd rather you got it over with," came a voice. It was icy cold, but bored, and impossibly self-important. "Come on in, mortals. There's no point in hiding, so we might as well get to the fighting. And your deaths, of course."

The three emerged into a small shrine, half the size of the initial vault with the walls and floor completely covered with ice. Beneath the layer of clear ice, they could make out Egyptian hieroglyphics. Standing against the far way, with a smug look on his face, was a man they had never met. He was short and muscular, and Asian by heritage, but there were distinctly sinister things about him. A tiny fang was jutting out from under his lower lip, and when he blinked his normal pupils became vertical slits for just a split-second. He was dressed in a deep crimson sorcerer's robe, and, as expected, was running the bow over a very expensive-looking violin. One of his hands was wrapped in bloody gauze. The most unnerving thing about him, though, took them a little while to notice, but when they did, it was all they could see-namely, that everything about him was sharp angles. His face, his stance, and even his clothes were all carefully creased into thirty-, forty-five-, and ninety-degree angles. It made him look impossibly rigid and stern.

"Salutations, internees," the man (they assumed) sighed, looking for all the world like he'd rather be doing just about anything else. "Do you like my decor? I based it on a contemporary style I rather liked."

"Who are you?" Rebecca demanded. "How did you get into Pegasus' vault?"

"I got in how I got in." He shrugged both shoulders at perfect forty-five-degree angles. "And as for a name, well, I'd be the king of fools to actually tell you that, but you may address me as Teplotaxl. It's a name I picked up from a piece of human literature I found...cute. As for more personal things, let's see...my age: Older than you. My rank: Higher than you'll ever achieve. My IQ: I doubt you can count that high."

The violin bow twirled over one finger as silence fell over the room, then he shrugged and went back to playing. He started a new piece, slow and melodious, almost a lullaby. The three duelists' eyes began to droop after only a few seconds, before Teplotaxl shifted into a merry jig that they couldn't resist dancing to. Before the three of them knew it, they had joined hands and were spinning at high speeds, laughing without any idea why.

Alice and Pegasus watched all of this from behind, seething with rage. In a flash, Alice grabbed hold of an icicle above her and flung it at Teplotaxl. It hit and skewered his violin, tearing it from his grasp and impaling it to the floor.

"Nice throw," he grumbled, looking at the still quivering projectile.

Bruno leapt over to smash the instrument with his foot when he realized something and turned to Alice. "Wait, how did you throw that?"

Rebecca and Kyon gasped as they turned to where Bruno was facing.

"I can see her!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Me, too!" Kyon added. "And Pegasus!"

Alice and Pegasus looked at each other and blinked in surprise. Alice felt her own chest, confounded by the sense of solidity. Then she tried the same with Pegasus' arm. The two were no longer transparent, and they could tell at once that they were solid.

"Amazing!" Pegasus laughed, poking Bruno in the belly. "We're flesh and blood!"

"At least you are here," grunted Teplotaxl. He still sounded hopelessly bored, as if this was a common occurrence. "It's this space. It's so infused with shadow energy, not just from me, but from Pegasus' own rituals. You two have been feeding on it since you came to this island, growing stronger. Now you have enough, apparently. It's all very obvious. I hope it will be enough to amuse you for a good, long time, because you're not leaving."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Kyon sneered. He turned around to leave, and walked directly into an ice-covered wall. "Where's the door?" he shrieked.

Teplotaxl let out a groan. "You mortals are perplexed by the simplest of magics, aren't you? Let me put this in a way you'll understand: I made the doorway go bye-bye, just like I made it appear. And it's not coming back unless I want it to."

Rebecca balled up her fists and glared at the strange devil. "So… you've sealed yourself in here with us?" she inquired. "Seems like a pretty stupid move."

"Don't think me a fool!" Teplotaxl snapped. "I can leave anytime I want! See for yourself!"

In a flash, Teplotaxl had winked out of existence, leaving no trace whatsoever. Seconds later, he was back in the same spot.

"What the-?" Pegasus stammered. "How did you-?"

"You're talking to a being that can perceive in five dimensions, child. Manipulating space is simple when you know all the shortcuts." Then, just to prove it, the small devil winked out again, and reappeared behind Bruno, yanking up his underwear. Next he seemingly teleported in front of Rebecca, tossing off the ill-fitting clothes she'd found after her duel with Catch. After that, he popped in before Kyon and flicked his nose, then went on to stomp on Pegasus' foot and pull Alice's hair.

"You know," said Alice, rubbing her head, "maybe being solid right now isn't all that great…"

"Tell me about it!" Pegasus snapped, hopping in pain.

"Yes, leaving you here to starve would indeed be pleasurable," Teplotaxl continued. "But the fact of the matter is Levistus is a little paranoid about that vault. I looked it over and saw nothing of use to his enemies, but he insisted I stick around and watch it-which, I'd like to point out, is a complete waste of an intellect such as mine. However, and I do hate to say it, it seems he was right. That card you've got there? It wasn't in the vault when I first arrived."

Pegasus stopped hopping and raised an eyebrow. "Then where did it come from?" he asked.

Teplotaxl sighed again. "Isn't it obvious? It's divine intervention. I'd recognize that celestial stench anywhere. You Shadowchaser have friends in high places, and apparently they want to lend a hand."

Bruno took out the card and looked it over. It certainly didn't seem special. It didn't give him any special feeling like Alice's card had back when he'd first touched it. It's not like the card was pulsing with life, or radiating positive emotion, or doing much of anything. It just seemed to be ink on cardboard.

"I see you have doubts," Teplotaxl said. "Well, I don't really care. That card is divine, and I'll only release you if you hand it over."

"Why tell us this at all?" Bruno asked, frowning. "Why not just use those powers to swoop in and take the card before I could?"

Teplotaxl let out yet another exasperated sigh. "Surely you must know more about how these things work," he said. "A devil can't just take a celestial gift that wasn't meant for him. It has to be given willingly, be it by trickery, bribery, or some sort of wager. So, hand over the card and I'll let you go."

"A devil wants me to make a deal?" said Bruno, clearly snarking. "Oh, I'm so sorry but my pen is out of blood."

"Yes, you don't have to have an intellect like mine to know that wouldn't work," the devil replied. "Not all of them are as stupid as Nie Junlong."

"Who?" Alice asked.

"Oh, some Blue Knight who tried to cheat his way to victory. His body is less than ideal for me, but at least I'm better off than my concupiscent compatriot Catch. He's dealing with some aggressive herpes, and you three left him trapped motionless on that pentagram, so he can't even scratch himself. But the point is, now I'm in control, of both Junlong's body and your fates. Of course, I might be interested in a wager…" he finished, his grin growing even slier. "So, I challenge you to a duel-or, in your native language…" he finished by beating his chest like a gorilla.

"Bring it on!" Rebecca boasted. "The three of us will destroy you!"

Teplotaxl snorted at this. "You think I'm as dumb as Catch?" he sneered. "No, this will be a one-on-one duel, all or nothing. And my opponent will be...you!"

He raised a finger and pointed at Bruno.

Bruno stared back and rubbed his chin. "Before I accept," he said, "let's discuss stakes. Exactly what are we wagering?"

"A pertinent query," Teplotaxl consented. "When I win, I will claim my favorite prize: your True Names."

Rebecca, Bruno, and Kyon stared back at him, confused, but Pegasus and Alice let out twin gasps of terror and backed up against a wall.

"You wouldn't!" Pegasus snarled. "That's...that's just despicable, even for a devil!"

"It's just business," Teplotaxl told him with a shrug. "Can you blame me for playing to win?"

"What's he talking about?" Kyon asked. "What's a True Name?"

"Many cultures, including the ancient Egyptians, believed that all things had a secret True Name," Pegasus explained. "Said name was their greatest secret, because if anyone else ever learned it, they would have complete power over them. It's even dangerous for a mortal to know his own True Name. Probably why very few mortals do."

"It's used in the most diabolical, controlling spells," Alice added. "Legend has it that that's how the goddess Isis forced Ra to retire as king of the gods. It's something devils use a lot when drafting Faustian pacts."

"If he has your True Names, he can make you do anything," Pegasus continued. "You'll be his property forever!"

"Exactly," Teplotaxl said, still smiling. He laced his fingers and stared at each of the five in turn, sizing them up. "Of course, the problem is that a True Name must be given willingly, one way or another. Working it in as a condition in the fine print of a contract is one way. Wagering it in a duel is another. I've been building up quite a collection, and you'll fit right in with it. I'm sure I'll find some tasks absolutely perfect for your skillsets-or maybe I'll sell you to Catch. From what I hear, he was eager to have you."

Bruno glared back at the devil. "And what do you wager in return? Just opening the door for us?"

"Oh, no," Teplotaxl laughed. "No, I've got an extra prize in mind. You see, I have the most wonderfully advanced intellect. Over the centuries I've 'gifted' humanity with some of its finest ideas. If, by some miracle, you actually win, I will, honestly and with no tricks, answer one question."

Rebecca blinked in disbelief. "That's it? You'll answer a question?"

"Any question that Bruno likes," Teplotaxl replied, nodding. He turned to the overweight Shadowchaser. "I'll bet you have some burning ones in you, don't you, big boy?"

Bruno continued to glare, but didn't answer.

"Yes," Teplotaxl continued. His voice seemed to be whispering into the Shadowchaser's ear from behind, even though Bruno could clearly see him before them. "You're absolutely burning with them. 'What is the meaning of my recurring dream? How can I help Alice and Pegasus? How can I win back Rebecca?' All excellent questions, and all of them I can easily answer-well, I can, should you accept my challenge and win."

"That's completely idiotic!" Rebecca objected. "Five souls for a door and a question? The sides are totally uneven!"

"Agreed!" Bruno snapped. "You must be out of your mind if you think I'll take that deal!"

"I assure you, I'm perfectly sane. Let's face it, this isn't really a choice for you. I'd be happy to just leave you in this room to starve to death-as if that would be the end. As I'm sure your spirit friends will attest," Teplotaxl added, pointing to Alice and Pegasus, "this room traps more than your flesh. Die in here, and your souls will be trapped forever. Your souls will be free from ownership, but that's really the only freedom they'll ever have. I'm your only hope for escape, and your only hope for even a slim chance of stopping Levistus. So, what do you say?"

"Not to play Devil's advocate here," said Pegasus, "uh, forgive the expression, but he has a point."

"Well, I'll give one more concession," Teplotaxl shrugged. "I don't actually have to duel Bruno. Any one of you may oppose me-but only the winner gets to ask a question. I know you all have them burning inside of you. And I can defeat any of you with little effort. I've already got all of your decks memorized. Feel free to decide amongst yourselves. Take your time. I'm twelve thousand, eight hundred and ten years, ten months, two weeks, five days, nineteen hours, forty-one minutes, and fifteen seconds old-and yes, I remember the moment I became sentient and have kept count. I can wait. Just know this: That celestial gift you're holding is a one-off deal. I'm more like your final test before using it."

Silently, the five of them looked at each other, and Bruno stepped forward, slapping his deck into his Disk. Behind him, Alice turned into a wisp of vapor, flowing into his deck.

"You've got one hell of an ego there, buddy," he said. "Let's see if you can back it up. You're on!"

"You're mad as a hatter if you think you can win!" Teplotaxl cackled. In a puff of smoke, a very angular Duel Disk, all squares and triangles, materialized over his wrist, a deck already inserted. "I've prepared a special deck just for you!"

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"Just...try it." Greg lurched back to his footing, trying hard to ignore his body's pain-filled protests against his decision to move. "You can barely move."

"I don't have to." The devil cracked a wicked smile, all the more so because of how several of her fangs was split or shattered out of her mouth. "My portal has been spawning in reinforcements for Archduke Levistus!"

"Wait- what? But I thought the portal was under the water!"

"Devils aren't affected by cold, water pressure or anything like that. And they don't breathe. At least, not like we are…" Greg grimaced as the water churned along the frozen edge and figures began to haul themselves up. Slimy, toad-like figures with bulbous eyes and wielding spears and axes. They had the stench of rotten fish."Oh great…"

"What are they?"

"More trouble." Greg had already counted at least a dozen of the figures and more were clambering out right behind them. "Hakozaki, run. Run hard and find one of the others. Tell them what's happened."

"Wait- are you serious?" Hakozaki glanced between Greg and the new devils. "You can't fight!"

"Neither can you."

"Yes, please, bicker! You'll both wind up dead anyway, so what does it matter?" The devil lifted a trembling finger at them. "The rage whets my appetite! Go, my minions! Break their bones and bring them to me!"

The horde surged across the ice, hooting and croaking loudly.

And dropping weapons as they ran right past Greg and Hakozaki into the woods. Even the ones that were still climbing out of the water were doing so in haste, climbing over each other or shoving one another back in the water.

"I don't..what…" The Blue Knight starred in utter confusion as the devils ignored them entirely. "It's like they're afraid...and look!" He pointed at some of the stragglers, who were missing limbs and bleeding blue onto the snow. "They're wounded!"

"What? What is going on?! The devil screeched and pulled at her hair. "Why are you running away? Why aren't you killing them!?

A shadow fell across her.

And then something wet that was most definitely not water dripped onto her clamshell and hissed.

She turned around slowly.

Looming out of the water like something out of a monster movie was the largest mammal she'd ever seen. It was fox-like, with six great massive tails lashing behind it and was glaring down at her with crimson eyes as it bared sword-sized, blue-stained fangs.

Greg starred with wide eyes as the devil screamed in defiance, lashing out with her remaining tentacles. But the giant fox simply crushed her and her shell beneath a person-sized paw with a horrendous, squelching, cracking noise.

"Is...is it...on our side?" Hakozaki asked nervously. He gulped as the fox's head lifted to stare at him, ears swiveling towards them. "Ummm….nice doggie?"

(Call me that again and I'm throwing you into the ocean. There's still more of those frog things down there.) The mental voice was professionally curt, but an undercurrent of menace was there, too. And definately female. Hauling the rest of herself out of the water, the fox padded across the ice. (Colonel, you're getting off here.)

"Right-o, ma'am." Five figures slid off the fox's back, landing on the beach with weapons drawn. Spotting Greg, he hustled over to him even as the others untangled a couple of cases from netting slung over the fox's back. "Shadowchaser, I'm Colonel. I'm with the Gotthammers. Give me an update on the situation."

"What..hammers?"

"Special ops." Greg informed him, then shifted his attention to Colonel. "An agent on the inside got us and the Blue Knights out of the castle so we can try and close the portals scattered across the island. We do that, Levistus gets weaker and we have a good shot taking him down."

"And I'm betting all of those portals are guarded and spawning more devils as we speak." Colonel grunted as he hauled Greg to his feet. "Let's see if we can't even the odds a bit. We've got weapons and armor for all the Shadowchasers on the island. So let's get moving."

(I'll clear the way.) The ground shook as the fox leapt over them, landing on the edge of the forest and shouldering her way through. Squeals of surprise quickly became pain and cut off abruptly. But the crunching and snapping noises didn't.

Hakozaki stared after it. "You work with a giant monster."

Greg shrugged. "The bad guys can't have all the cool stuff."

TTTTTT

(Bruno: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Teplotaxl: 8,000)

"You're welcome to take the opening turn," Teplotaxl taunted as they drew their opening hands. "It makes no difference to me. I've run the numbers, and you're more likely to win the Chinese lottery while being hit by lightning than defeat me."

"Somebody write that down!" Pegasus urged. "That needs to be in a movie!"

Bruno rolled his eyes and drew a card, examining his hand. Jackpot! He thought, though he was careful not to let his face betray it. I drew Nightmare Mirror and Alice in Despairland in my opening hand! And I've got her public domain 'twin' here too. This'll give me a big advantage. He moved his hand, then stopped to examine Teplotaxl. The devil stood ramrod-straight, but couldn't seem more relaxed. No telling what he's planning. I'd better try and win this fast.

"I summon Alice, the Warden of Wonderland!" he announced, slapping a card down on his Disk. In a flash of light, Bruno's signature monster sprang up, waving her hunting knife. (1,300 ATK)

"And I'll set this as well," he continued as a set card materialized behind the Warden. "That'll be all for now."

Teplotaxl rolled his eyes yet again. "A weak monster and a set card. Oh, I wonder what it could be!" He chuckled to himself as he drew a card. "Based on what I know of your deck, I would surmise that said set card is, in fact, Nightmare Mirror. You plan to not only negate my next attack, but also increase the power of all of your monsters."

Bruno starred the devil down, but didn't reply. Rebecca, on the other hand, wasn't so cool. "How can you be so sure?" she demanded, baring her teeth.

"Oh, please," the devil replied. "With a brain like mine, nothing is beyond understanding. Watch this. You!" he cried, pointing at Kyon. "Were-ermine. Think of a whole number between one and a hundred."

Kyon raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Got it."

Teplotaxl made a big show of thinking for a moment, then held his chin and said "forty-three".

Kyon's jaw nearly hit the floor. "How could you possibly know?"

"It's easy when you know your opponent. You chose a number near the middle because it seemed safer-like a protective padding on either side. But not too near the middle, because that would seem too obvious. I knew it wouldn't be over fifty, because higher numbers seem more aggressive to you, and you don't consider yourself an aggressive person. I also knew it would be an odd number because you think those are more random, even though they make up half of all numbers. It wouldn't be anything ending in five, though, because you don't consider those random enough. Forty-seven and forty-nine were too close to fifty, and you subconsciously think that any number ending in one is 'weak'. That left only one answer.

"And the best part of this? I knew the number before you even decided."

"I never liked math," said Rebecca, crossing her arms.

"You also never liked jalapenos. It's all in your file. Anyway, it's my turn, and this duel allows me a unique opportunity to show you lower life-forms how I see your primitive world. Bruno, you may find this familiar. I activate Tangram Flatland!"

The Field Spell slot on Teplotaxl's bizarre, blocky Duel Disk slid open, and the devil inserted a card. The small, ice-covered room of hieroglyphs faded away, leaving behind a white void of nothingness, sending a chill down the spines of all but the fiend who'd caused it.

"What kind of ridiculous field is this?" Kyon demanded. "There's nothing here!"

"I certainly had no part in its creation…" Pegasus mused, staring around them. "Wait, where's Alice?!"

"There's plenty here," Teplotaxl laughed. "Just look down."

The four cast their eyes downward and tilted their heads in confusion. Beneath them was what appeared to be a brightly-colored blueprint for an entire city. Bizarre outlines of houses and buildings were everywhere, each of them with gaps for doorways and spacious rooms. Green circles represented trees, and white lines could've been picket fences. All in all, it seemed like a bird's-eye view of any ordinary town, except that they could see the insides of buildings, albeit not their contents. There, nestled on a grey road, was the Warden of Wonderland in profile, squashed hopelessly flat.

"This whole field…" Bruno realized, staring at the bizarre sight. "It's a two-dimensional world! Just like-"

"Just like the satirical novel by Edwin Abbott Abbott," Teplotaxl finished. "Yes indeed. And, as such a place highly limits movement, you'll find that your monsters' battle positions cannot be changed manually. I must say, Bruno, your understanding of higher mathematics, and the novels that display them, is slightly greater than your peers. It's...cute. Like a parrot identifying colors. I love it when my humans think they're smart."

Bruno seethed at the comment, and his companions shared the sentiment. One, however, seemed distracted.

"Okay, 'Flatland' I get," said Kyon. "But 'Tangram'?" He raised an eyebrow. "What in the world is that?"

"Humph, no doubt the origin of the word is lost upon such peons. 'Tangram' is, to be literal, Chinese for 'seven boards of skill'. A puzzle consisting of a square divided into seven smaller and equally-simple shapes, which one then assembles into some of the most complex of depictions."

"So then, it's a old Chinese Rubik's Cube," said Rebecca with a sigh.

"An interesting analogy, but not even close. The Tangram can be assembled thousands of ways, literally. The only rule is that all seven shapes must be used without overlapping. And I'll give you a sample. I summon Tangram Snake!"

Teplotaxl placed a card on his Disk, and seven shapes manifested in the Flatland. There were five triangles-two large, one medium, and two small, but all isosceles, as well as a square and a parallelogram, all painted in an ugly pastel green. The shapes hastily pieced themselves together, like a set of flat, featureless Legos, clicking into a zigzag pattern, ultimately forming something vaguely resembling a serpent. (1,250 ATK)

"That's...underwhelming…" Pegasus commented, staring at the shifting zigzag. The monster itself didn't undulate, but it sort of swayed back and forth without moving individual parts.

"Kinda cool, though," Rebecca admitted. "It's not often you see a monster so weird."

"Yes, I suppose," Kyon agreed. "Interesting to see, at least-though probably pretty boring to hear or read about…"

"You'll see," Teplotaxl told him. "Now, by switching a Tangram into Defense Mode, I can Special Summon Tangram Bat from my hand."

The snake made a ninety-degree turn, now facing sideways rather than ahead (750 DEF), as a new set of black tiles appeared and arranged themselves into the shape of...well, of a bat. It gently moved forward and back next to the Tangram Snake. (250 ATK)

"And I'm sure even lesser minds like yours know what's next; it's time for a tune-up!"

The Synchro Summon was an unusual one. Rather than drifting upward, the Tangram Snake merely faded away, leaving behind three stars, which swirled around the Tangram Bat and were absorbed into it. The Bat's tiles split apart, rearranging and piecing themselves together again, all without moving up or down, as they turned dreadful shades of powdered blue and pastel pink.

"Seven tiles rearranged create infinite possibilities!" the devil chanted as the tiles shifted. "Form a shape that tramples the opposition!"

(*2 + *3 = *5)

"Synchro Summon...Tangram Skater!"

The pieces stopped turning and cobbled themselves together into a vaguely human shape, one with one foot in the air, its arms spread wide, and no face. It twirled around and positioned itself to face the Warden of Wonderland. (2,250 ATK)

"That's it?" Bruno said, raising an eyebrow. "Not a lot of brute strength to it."

"It's strong enough to kill your Warden," Teplotaxl replied, crossing his arms. "And even better, since Tangram Snake was used for the Synchro Summon, I get to switch her battle position."

Unable to move in three dimensions, Alice was instead forcibly repositioned ninety degrees, while she bent her arm to move her knife what little she could. (1,000 DEF)

"I should also point out to you that my Tangram Skater inflicts piercing damage, so defending won't help you." He paused for a moment, then chuckled. "Your Trap might, though, so I'll have to take care of that. Go, Anti-Magic Arrows!"

As he used the card, a hail of shimmering, glimmering darts-real, three-dimensional ones-shot from the enlarged copy, flying in an arc and impaling Bruno's set card, quivering as they struck.

"That's...bad," he remarked, looking down at it.

"And it's about to get worse! Tangram Skater, eliminate his Warden with Savage Edge!"

The pink-and-blue skater zoomed forward, its speed and movements steady on the two-dimensional plane as it spun 360 degrees and rammed one of its feet into Alice, striking directly with the point. The amount of violence surprised the spectators, as Alice was broken in half. She let out a scream before exploding.

(B: 6,750) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 8,000)

"That was just gruesome!" Kyon gasped, watching as the uncaring Skater returned to its master.

"So is Flatland," Teplotaxl said with a forty-five-degree shrug. "Accidental deaths happened there all the time."

"He's right," Bruno agreed. "Square and triangular houses were outlawed for fear of killing yourself on a corner, and women-who were just lines-had to constantly cry out as they moved, lest an unsuspecting figure be split in half."

"Indeed," the devil replied with a nod. "Anyway, that's all for my turn."

Bruno sighed and drew as the arrows holding down his Trap faded away.

"Come on, Bruno!" Rebecca encouraged. "Don't get bent out of shape! Knock his block off!"

Bruno rolled his eyes and selected a card. "I summon Humpty Dumpty!" he announced, slapping it onto his Disk. The grinning, wide-eyed and well-dressed egg gave an ostentatious bow before leaping into the air, rolling and somersaulting forward. In midair, though, he was forcibly yanked down and pressed flat, his oblong face pressed sideways. (2,300 ATK)

"Yeesh," Kyon cringed. "This 2-D field isn't doing any favors for aesthetics."

"Yes, the novelty wears off quickly," Bruno told him. "But at least the problem is purely visual. My Humpty Dumpty is still strong enough for this. Destroy Tangram Skater with spinning leap!"

Like the Tasmanian Devil, Humpty Dumpty, still lying flat, began to spin at such high speeds that his features became downright invisible-just a white disc on the field of blueprints. He rocketed forward and slammed into the still-unresponsive skater, who shattered into the seven component pieces.

(B: 6,750) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 7,950)

"Not a lot of damage," Bruno said with a shrug. "But at least it took your Skater apart."

Teplotaxl replied by giving another evil chuckle. "True, but that doesn't mean it's gone, von Klein. Take another look."

The humans and Pegasus cast their eyes down and cringed when they saw that, indeed, the Skater's component pieces still remained, hovering in place.

"True, you took it apart, but that won't keep a living puzzle down for long. To make a long story short, when you destroy a Tangram Synchro, it reassembles itself into a new configuration. Or rather, using the mechanics of this medium, I get to summon a new Tangram from my hand, provided it's a lower Level. So please, welcome Tangram Fox."

The spinning tiles changed color, becoming orange and white, and rearranged themselves into a new, vaguely vulpine silhouette. (1,350 ATK)

"And when Tangram Fox is Special Summoned, I get to draw a card," Teplotaxl finished, adding to his hand. "And, in addition, I'm aware of Humpty Dumpty's effect-as well as the effects of every other card in your deck."

Humpty Dumpty's spinning finally stopped, leaving a woozy-looking egg who had inexplicably developed cracks all over. (0 DEF)

"How…" started Bruno.

"Please, I have the details of every card in the game right here," said the fiend, pointing to the side of his head. "That one isn't even the most notorious card that forces itself into Defense Mode. A hundred points more useful than Giant Orc, though. Now, where were we?"

"You were starting your turn," Bruno sighed, waving his hand.

Teplotaxl gave a nod, his head bobbing up and down at an exact ninety degrees, as he drew another card. "Ah, here we go. Time for one of my favorite combos. I'll begin by activating Tangram Candle." He slipped the card into his Disk, and yet another set of tiles materialized, these a sickly yellow. They rearranged themselves into a single column, topping it with the parallelogram to look like a burning wick.

"With this card, I can take a look at a single set card on your field every turn. The only catch being that only Tangrams may attack if I do so. Now, let's see if I was right about your Trap."

The devil's candle began to glow, light pulsing out in all directions. Immediately, Bruno's set card turned transparent, revealing it to indeed be Nightmare Mirror before it returned to a generic card back.

"What do you know? I was right-for the eight billion, six hundred twenty-five million, three hundred seventy-two thousand, four hundred and ninth time in a row. How surprising."

This guy is more annoying than Teodahr was, thought Bruno. Uglier too. And he has none of his showmanship.

"But knowing is, after all, only half the battle, so I'd better remedy the situation. Now to unlock the second part of my combo: Go, Tangram Key!"

He played another Spell, and a new set of tiles materialized next to the first, these painted bright gold. They rearranged themselves into a shape resembling an old-fashioned skeleton key.

"This one's a little tricky to use, unless you have a proper combo. Simply put, this lets me select a set card on your field, and then guess its identity. Then I take a look, and if I'm right, it will be locked down for as long as my key remains. Not destroyed, mind you. Just hanging there, useless, taking up valuable space. And, since I already know that your Trap is Nightmare Mirror…"

The key let out a pulse of light, and Nightmare Mirror was once again revealed, then reset. Afterward, an image of a padlock appeared over its back, the top snapping shut.

"If you were so confident of what it was, why did you bother with that Candle?" Pegasus demanded.

Teplotaxl gave another angular shrug. "Even I can be wrong...in theory. Besides, as you can see, these are Continuous Spells, so I can use these effects every single turn. And now that you're once again defenseless, it's time to beef up my forces. This'll be a snap! Come forth, Tangram Crab!"

Surprise, surprise, more tiles appeared, these an ugly teal. They arranged themselves into a shape that might have resembled a crab if you squinted. It stood on two points, the square made up what might have been the eyestalks (or maybe the mouth), and it appeared to be holding up its "claws" in a threatening manner. (750 ATK)

"You call that a crab?!" Bruno demanded. "I've seen better-looking crabs in sex ed class!"

"No need to work blue, von Klein," Teplotaxl shot back. "Sass won't protect you, anyway. Tangram Crab, poach that egg with crushing pincer stab!"

The crablike shape skittered sideways, making vague movements with its claws until it made its way to a sweat, drenched Humpty Dumpty, who exploded into pixels on the spot.

"And with that done, Tangram Fox! Attack directly with Tangram trickery!"

As the Crab returned, the Fox advanced, moving ears-first toward the Shadowchaser, dodging trees and walls on the bizarre map.

"You're kidding, right?" Rebecca snarked. "How much can a direct attack from a bunch of tiles hurt, even in a Shadow Game?"

Shortly after she finished, the Tangram Fox spun around, jabbing the sharp point of its tail into Bruno's shin. Bruno howled in pain and hopped on his other foot, a line of blood staining his sock.

"Offhand," Teplotaxl chortled, "I'd say a lot."

(B: 5,400) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 7,950)

"The odds are growing increasingly uneven in my favor, Bruno," the devil pointed out. "And you know that I know all the odds."

Bruno finally managed to move past the pain and set down his foot, gritting his teeth. "Will that be all?" he demanded.

"Hardly. Moving on to my second Main Phase, I'll do another Synchro Summon. Time for another tune-up!"

Like Teplotaxl's last Synchro Summon, Tangram Fox dissolved into three stars, and Tangram Crab absorbed them and broke apart. The seven tiles rearranged again, and transformed from teal to an ostentatious silver.

"Seven tiles rearranged create infinite possibilities!" Teplotaxl chanted again. "Form a shape to confound my enemies!"

(*3 + *3 = *6)

"Synchro Summon...Tangram Runner!"

The newest Tangram indeed resembled a faceless person running, the two legs spread far apart, the arms possibly held in at the elbows. (2,450 ATK)

"Like all of my Tangrams, it may not look like much at first glance, but you'll be begging for mercy when you learn of its effect. In the meantime, though, since I used Tangram Crab for a Synchro Summon, I get to draw another card." He drew a card, then immediately set it. "There. Now I'm done."

Bruno cast a suspicious glance at the newest Tangram as his hand flew to his deck.

"What sort of effect could that thing be hiding?" Kyon asked, mirroring the overweight Shadowchaser's thoughts.

"Well, we can rule out a piercing effect," Bruno pointed out. "If it did, he would have Synchro Summoned before attacking."

"You'll see soon enough," Teplotaxl said with a shrug. "Your turn now. Do try to make it at least slightly interesting this time."

Bruno examined his hand, including his newest draw. This card's no good now, he thought. I don't have anything strong enough to defeat his Runner yet, and setting a Trap is a no-go with that Candle/Key combo. Gonna have to buy some time. He set a monster and waved his hand as the card back appeared on the field. "That's all."

"And once again a human fails to meet my expectations," Teplotaxl jeered, rolling his eyes. "Hate to say it, but-oh, wait, I love to say it! Called it!"

"Hey, lay off!" Rebecca cried. Bruno, Pegasus, and Kyon turned to her, and she blushed. Apparently even she to see herself defending Bruno. "Not every turn can be a spectacle! He'll turn this around!"

"Let me guess," the devil said with a laugh. "You'd bet your life on it. Oh, wait! You already have! And your afterlife, as well! It's only a matter of time, dear, before you and all of your little friends become mine." He reached out and drew a card. "Hm. Well, though I adore keeping humans in suspense, the time has come to reveal my Runner's ability. Once per turn, he can change the battle position of one of your monsters. Now, my Runner! Shift that impotent buffer into Attack Mode!"

The Runner took off, moving so fast it became a blur-though, as far as anybody could tell, its legs never shifted in the least. It went around and around Bruno's defensive monster before finally lunging in and tackling it from the side. The card flipped over, a rectangular soldier sprung up. The four of clubs put on a shocked expression, which quickly gave way to fear as the nature of Tangram Flatland set in, pressing him down on his back. He was a lot more comfortable with it than the Warden of Wonderland, having been clearly two-dimensional from the start, but there was no denying that the Club Guard was hardly intimidating. (1,000 ATK)

Teplotaxl rolled his eyes. "A junk card, I take it, in more ways than one. Runner, show them what a live hand can do! Savage sprint!"

The Runner assented and, wordlessly, tore across the field again, slamming one of its feet into what constituted Club Guard's groin. Club Guard crumpled, literally, then shattered.

(B: 3,950) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 7,950)

"Now that's a kicker!" he guffawed. "Seems you're really playing under the gun, Bruno."

"He'll still make a comeback!" Rebecca snapped.

"If you mean Club Guard, you're absolutely right!" Teplotaxl laughed as he inserted one of his cards into his Disk. A new hologram sprung up, a Spell showing a muscular giant bursting out of a graveyard. "That move was so much fun, I'm going to activate Impact Revive to do it all over again!"

"Impact Revive!" Pegasus gasped. "Wow, you don't play around! That card saw a very limited print!"

"What's it do?" Bruno asked.

"It lets him revive a monster that was destroyed in battle this turn with an extra five hundred Attack Points, and then gives him a second Battle Phase," the game's creator explained. "A very nasty effect, when used right. Thing is, it was one of those cards that was so scarce and powerful that it rarely saw use-the only time I know of in my lifetime was when Dartz used it against the King of Games."

"Dartz had this card?!" Rebecca demanded. "His deck was practically its own Forbidden list!"

Teplotaxl let out another of his obnoxious chuckles. "And the irony is, this card was likely the least dangerous one he had. And I do mean this card. I traded the soul of an Etruscan sculptor to pick through Dartz's non-Orichalcos collection. It's amazing the things you can find in the open bazaars in Hell. All infernal artifacts and knowledge wind up there sooner or later...

"Now, as even lowly minds such as yours can guess, I'm reviving Bruno's Club Guard in Attack Mode. Come on back, you dead draw!"

At his words, Club Guard rose back up, then flattened down against the field, clasping his spear in one hand. (1,000 ATK) -) (1,500 ATK)

"And my Runner gets another shot! Savage sprint!"

The Runner shot forward again, striking just as he did before. Bruno, Kyon, and Pegasus winced in sympathy as the poor card soldier exploded all over again.

(B: 3,000) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 7,950)

"Oh, perhaps I should've dueled the were-ermine," the devil went on with a sigh. "At least then I'd have the momentary thrill of finding out which deck he chose. I'd probably guess beforehand, though."

"The scary thing is, he probably would," Kyon muttered. Rebecca put a protective arm around him, and Bruno growled.

Alice, it's time to give me something good!, the portly Shadowchaser thought. He reached his hand out and drew a card, then smiled. That'll help!

"It's time for a fresh start, Teplotaxl!" Bruno cried. He selected another card from his hand and set it, then chose the one he'd drawn. He slammed the card into his Disk, and its hologram sprung up. "I activate Card Destruction!"

"Whatever," sighed the fiend. "No skin off my nose."

Both duelists dropped their cards into the Graveyard, then drew their replacements-one for Teplotaxl, and three for Bruno.

"Not only does that give me a fresh start," Bruno bragged, "but get this. You're good at guessing games; guess what I just discarded!"

A cloud of darkness collected besides Bruno, then solidified into the familiar form of Alice in Despairland. "Surprised to see me?" she said with a wink.

"I haven't been surprised in twelve hundred and forty-four years, six months, ten days, fourteen hours, six minutes, and fifty-one seconds," Teplotaxl said, rolling his eyes. "And yes, I literally count the seconds because it happens so little. Now take your turn so I can harvest your True Names and go back to Levistus' usual complaining."

"Complaining?"

"Please, the man never shuts up. You think I'm an egotist? I've had to listen to him whine and complain about what happened to him since the day it happened. It's always 'ME-ME-ME-ME!' nonstop. Enough to give the Demiurge itself a headache. But then again, being outclassed by egotists is nothing new to you, is it Bruno? Or you, Becky?"

The two Shadowchasers blushed and averted their eyes. Bruno examined his hand and selected a new card.

"Time to finally take the reins of this duel!" he announced. "I summon Tweedledee!"

He played the card, and the familiar fat man-boy appeared on the field. Alice waved her hand, and Tweedledee's expression darkened. (1,600 ATK) -) (1,800 ATK)

"And I'll use his ability, paying eight hundred Life Points to summon his twin, Tweedledum, from my deck!"

(B: 2,200) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 7,950)

Tweedledee's mirror image bounced out, and Alice repeated the action with him. (1,800 ATK) -) (2,000 ATK)

"And I also discarded my Whispering Gnat, so I'll use it! I banish it from my Graveyard to increase the Levels of my Dark monsters by one!"

A card slipped out of Bruno's Graveyard, and there was a faint buzzing sound as Bruno's twins' Levels increased.

"It's time to bring a new dimension to this duel! I'll use my twins to construct the Overlay Network!"

A familiar vortex opened over the field, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee were transformed into yellow and black rays of light, which flew directly in.

"Some gave them white bread,

Some gave them brown;

Some gave them plum-cake

And drummed them out of town!"

A pair of shapes descended as the vortex closed-one medium height and burly, the other tall and willowy, but both hidden in shadow. They landed gently on the floor.

"Xyz Summon...The Lion and the Unicorn!"

The resulting monster finally revealed itself as two noble, bipedal animals. The Lion stood with his head lowered, baring his teeth as he hefted a broadsword, while the Unicorn stood tall with a sharp spear pointed upward. Each had a purple sphere orbiting around it. The two shared a brief glance, then took their battle stances as Alice cast her spell. (2,700 ATK) -) (2,900 ATK) Moments later, they were compressed into two dimensions, standing back-to-back in profile.

"Finally, you bring out something stronger than the actual cardboard on which these cards are printed!" Teplotaxl laughed. "But well, go ahead. I'm ready for you! It'll take more than a couple of antiquated political caricatures to defeat me. I've dealt with the actual Gladstone and Disraeli!"

"Somehow, that is not a surprise," sighed Pegasus.

Bruno glared right back at the laughing devil. "See, in case you didn't notice, this Monster is two creatures in one, meaning I remove one of their Xyz Materials to allow my monster to attack twice this turn."

The Lion's sphere flew into his broadsword, making it glow.

"And now, Lion and the Unicorn, destroy Tangram Runner! Beat him 'round the town!"

The dual monster nodded and launched themselves forward, holding out their weapons to either side.

"Hey, I just realized," Rebecca said as she stared at their bizarre, slow movement. "What exactly is the system of propulsion here? I mean, is there even such thing as friction in two dimensions?"

"Best to try not to think about it," Kyon said with a shrug.

The Lion and the Unicorn dodged around a tree and reached the Tangram Runner. The Unicorn found it first, and jammed the point of its lance into the Runner's head. The Runner split into its seven components without a sound.

(B: 2,200) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 7,500)

"Like my Skater, Tangram Runner lets me Special Summon a Tangram of a lower Level from my hand," Teplotaxl bragged. "Tangram Horse should do." He selected a card from his hand and set it on his Disk. The seven tiles spun and turned to a brilliant white, spotted with brown, then recombined into the shape of a horse rearing up. It turned sideways before its master. (1,450 DEF)

"And it gets better, because I also activate Tangram Fall!"

Teplotaxl's set card lifted, displaying a Trap with the image of two pastel orange tangram figures with both legs in the air, as if they had slipped on something.

"When a Tangram monster is destroyed, I can Special Summon two more from my deck! Behold, Tangram Camel, and Tangram Turtle!"

Two more sets of tiles flew out, one bright vermillion, the other seafoam green. The vermillion ones assembled into the shape of a humped creature with a long neck (1,750 DEF), while the seafoam ones took a squat, lower form with a boxy shape. (2,050 DEF) Both of them were in profile, facing perpendicular to their master.

I obviously have to destroy one, Bruno thought, staring at the three silhouettes. But which one? Which one does he want to protect?

"Decisions, decisions," Teplotaxl mused, as if he could read Bruno's mind. "'What in the world could that devil be planning?' Oh, if only you knew. Then again, if you did, you'd shit yourself, and I'm not crazy about that. Ah, well. Best you can do is guess-and I'm confident you'll make the wrong choice. Humans always do."

The Tangram Horse is most suspicious, Bruno thought, looking at the stats. It's Level 5, but its stats are low. It probably has a nasty effect. But what if the real danger is one of the others? If that's so, then the least conspicuous is…

"Beat that Tangram Turtle all around the town!" he finally ordered.

The Lion and the Unicorn spun once again, and with a bellowing roar, the Lion jabbed its broadsword into the Turtle's shell, crushing the terrapin and smashing it into its component parts. Teplotaxl's smile never wavered, however.

"Nothing but a shield," the devil shrugged. "That's all that I've lost."

"Don't believe him!" Pegasus hissed in Bruno's ear. "Any good gamer always acts as if they have the upper hand, no matter what! Trust the cards, not your opponent!"

"Not a bad idea," Bruno agreed. "Let's let Lady Luck decide what happens next. I activate my set Spell, Morals from the Duchess!"

Bruno's set card lifted up, displaying his card with the image of the ugly Duchess leering over Alice's shoulder.

"Now, show me the top card of your deck!"

Teplotaxl raised an eyebrow, but held up the card for all to see. It was a low-Level monster called Tangram Butterfly, displaying yet another garish figure, this one painted in orange and black. "I believe a monster means we both shuffle our decks and draw one," the devil said. Bruno nodded, and Teplotaxl returned the card to his deck. Following that, their decks were shuffled, and each spat out a single card.

"That's it for now," Bruno said. He stared at the card he'd drawn, determined not to let his face display any emotion. It didn't work.

"I see you've drawn a useless Trap card," Teplotaxl chuckled as he drew yet another card. "Yes, my Candle/Key combo is a nasty one, isn't it? And Traps are some of your trickiest cards. You have the strongest monster on the field, but you still fear what isn't on it. You just can't shake the panic, not knowing the unknown."

"Some would say being a control freak is even worse."

The fiend chuckled and set a card next to the Tangram Key. "There. I'm still defending. Feel better?"

"Don't let him rattle you, Bruno!" Rebecca encouraged. "You've still got the advantage!"

"Remember what you're fighting for!" Kyon cried. "Our immortal souls!"

"Gee, thanks," Bruno grunted as he drew. "I'd forgotten for a moment." He examined his hand and sighed. "I'll remove the Lion and the Unicorn's Xyz Material to let it attack twice again!"

Teplotaxl smiled back. "Yeah, I don't think so. Much as I dislike using such a mundane utility, I activate Fiendish Chain!"

The fiend's Trap lifted, and a mass of chained moorings sprang out, wrapping a three-dimensional chain around Bruno's two-dimensional monster, anchoring it flat in place in the Tangram Flatland. Both creatures winced in agony as they struggled to move, to no avail.

"As long as this is active, your monster can neither attack nor use its effect," Teplotaxl explained. "And thanks to my Flatland, it can't change its battle position, either!"

Bruno growled and set two cards, then waved his hand.

"He's not at his best, is he?" Alice whispered into Pegasus' ear.

"Few people are when they're fighting for their souls," Pegasus replied.

"Maybe we can help…" Alice suggested. Subtly, the two held hands, channeling what little power they had.

"Setting up a decoy to protect your real Trap, eh?" the devil said, rolling his eyes in perfect circles. "That's novel. Won't help you much, though. Exposing one of them should be enough to discern which the decoy is. Now, I believe I will use my Tangram Candle to expose the one on my left."

The Candle grew brighter, and one of Bruno's set cards became transparent, exposing the image of a man pulsing with power. The glow faded, and the card became opaque again.

"Rising Energy," Teplotaxl observed. "Obviously not the decoy. Now, Tangram Key, lock it down! I name the card, 'Rising Energy'!"

Tangram Key let out a glow, and Rising Energy reappeared for a moment, then faded yet again. A padlock snapped shut over it.

"Seems you're on your last legs, which is exactly how my next monsters prefers it. I summon Tangram Vulture!"

He played the card with a flourish, and a dingy grey set of tiles appeared on the field, reconfiguring and combining into a hunched, birdlike shape. (650 ATK)

"When it's summoned, I can revive a low-Level Tangram from my Graveyard! Return to me, Tangram Bat!"

The black bat shape reappeared with a light swishing sound, and hovered next to the scavenger. (250 ATK)

"Following that, I'll switch Tangram Horse to Attack Mode."

The horse-shaped figure rotated ninety degrees, now facing Bruno. (1,850 ATK)

"And now, for Tangram Camel's ability. By sending a face-up Spell or Trap on my field to the Graveyard, I can switch the battle position of a single monster on the field, and then either increase or decrease its Attack Score by three hundred. So, since I no longer require my Fiendish Chain…"

The restraints around the Lion and the Unicorn faded into nothingness, leaving the creatures to sigh with relief. At the same time, Tangram Horse swelled slightly larger. (1,850 ATK) -) (2,150 ATK)

"That's nowhere near strong enough to beat Bruno's paladins," Kyon pointed out.

"Too true," Teplotaxl agreed. "These monsters are too weak, so it's a good thing one of them is a Tuner, so it's time for another tune-up! I'll tune my Level two Tangram Bat with my Level three Camel and Vulture. Get along, now!"

Tangram Bat split into its original seven components, and the Camel and Vulture dissolved, leaving behind three stars each, which flew into six of the seven black tiles, turning them a royal purple.

"Seven tiles rearranged create infinite possibilities!" Teplotaxl chanted again. "Form a shape that crashes through the most solid of defenses!"

(*2 + *3 + *3 = *8)

"Synchro Summon...Tangram Cavalry!"

The seven tiles recombined, shaping into a form that actually looked a lot like a silhouette of a person riding a horse. The shape reared back, then turned to face Bruno. (2,950 ATK)

"That breaks through the best defenses?!" Rebecca exclaimed, staring at the unimpressive new monster. "I mean, sure, its Attack is high, but I'd hardly call it 'unstoppable'."

"I'll bet it has a piercing effect, too," Kyon muttered.

Pegasus and Alice gave no reaction to any of this, still clenching each others' hands. A purple pulse of energy ran between them.

"That and then some!" Teplotaxl bragged. "You'll see in just a minute. Tangram Cavalry, rid the field of that fanciful eyesore!"

As the horseman advanced, Bruno's hand flew to his Disk. "Finally, something goes my way!" he cheered. "I activate Caucus-Race!"

"Eh?" replied the fiend.

"Now I choose the order of your attacks! Tangram Horse, you're up!"

The cavalryman halted in place, and the wild horse charged instead, running straight into the Lion's broadsword and exploding.

(B: 2,200) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 6,750)

"You've fallen victim to one of the classic blunders!" chortled Pegasus. "The most famous is, 'never get involved in a land war in Asia', but only slightly less well known is this: Never assume a second hidden defense is a bluff to protect the first!"

"You're a funny man, Pegasus," Teplotaxl sighed, "but once again, I must rain on your parade. I had a strong suspicion that that was your card, and was prepared for such a minor loss. Your monster will still die, and you'll lose more than you expect. Show him, Tangram Cavalry! Befuddling charge!"

The Cavalry charged ahead noiselessly, but, to Bruno's shock, as it approached it split apart into its seven components, surrounding the paladins on all sides. The Lion and the Unicorn spun, trying to decide which piece was the largest threat, before giving up and lowering their weapons (2,400 DEF). As soon as their weapons were down, the pieces slammed into them from all sides, recombining around them as the Lion and the Unicorn exploded.

"...and drummed them out of town," snarled the devil.

(B: 1,650) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 6,750)

"As you can see," Teplotaxl continued, "my Tangram Cavalry can switch a monster's battle position when it attacks, rendering defenses useless. And now that you're down to 20.625% of your original Life Points, I've got you over a metaphorical barrel-and you'll be lucky if I don't sell you to Catch and make it literal. So, take your last pathetic turn and let's end this, already. I know for a fact there isn't a single card in your deck that will save you at this point."

Pegasus and Alice, still channeling their strength sent matching glares the fiend's way.

"You, sir, are just another bully," Pegasus harrumphed, tightening his grip on Alice's hand. "Duel Monsters is a game of skill and bonds, not cheap threats. If I wanted a game where someone could win by talking, I'd have entered politics!"

"I've helped plenty of duelists make amazing comebacks, and I'll do it again!" Alice snapped.

The power continued to channel between them, a purple glow surrounding their free hands. With matching smiles, they fired them at Bruno's deck, which briefly glowed before returning to normal.

"There, Bruno-boy!" Pegasus laughed. "Try drawing now! I think you'll like the changes we've made."

Bruno nodded and placed his hand on the top of his deck. He took a deep breath and pulled the top card. He stared at it and raised an eyebrow, but smiled.

"This is ridiculous!" Teplotaxl snapped. "You can't just add new cards to your deck in the middle of a duel!"

"Figures," said Alice, shaking her head, "the bad guys always love the supernatural help until the hero gets it."

"I can cite multiple precedents that say this is okay," Rebecca pointed out. "What about Critias and Hermos?"

"That's different! Those were gifts from spirits!"

"And what are Alice and I, Halloween decorations?" Pegasus chuckled. "Besides, if you don't like that, what about when Edo Phoenix received the ultimate Destiny card mid-duel? Or Yusei Fudo's new forms of Stardust Dragon?"

"Fine, fine!" Teplotaxl snarled. "You've made your point. I'll allow this to continue, mainly because it won't make a difference. You wouldn't give him a card that's too broken, no matter what you kept for yourself. And I'll admit I calculated a small, outside chance that this would happen. Just take your turn, von Klein. I might even find this refreshing."

Bruno nodded. "I certainly think so," he said. His grin had returned-not the smug one, but genuinely cheerful. "It's time for a new style of fusion! I activate the Spell, Mad Fusion!"

He played the card with gusto, and its hologram materialized beside him, depicting what at first was the standard image on the classic Polymerization card (a demon and a dragon swirling together in a vortex), but the background was full of cartoonish faces with crossed eyes and protruding tongues.

"It's called 'mad' because it flips the script, as it were, on traditional fusion. Instead of sending cards to my Graveyard, it lets me shuffle the materials from my Graveyard into my deck! So now, time for something entirely new! I'll shuffle Alice, the Warden of Wonderland and Alice in Despairland to bring out something more powerful that both put together-which is ironic, since it is both put together."

Alice, with a smile, was sucked back into her card as Bruno shuffled it into his deck.

"Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink,

Or anything else that is pleasant to drink:

Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine-

And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!"

The Spell's hologram exploded outward, expelling a new monster that kneeled on the floor, head lowered.

"Fusion Summon...Queen Alice of Despairland!"

The new monster raised her head, smiled, and got to her feet. In face and feature, it was Alice in Despairland, slightly older, with her huge blue eyes and flowing white hair, but she'd adopted a new outfit. She now filled out a silk gown ending in a high hemline of white concentric rings like the bottom of a chess piece. The bodice was red and shaped like a rook, while the shoulders were knights, one red, one white. Each arm also had a vambrace in the shape of a bishop-again, one red and one white. She wore knee-high stockings in red and white stripes, and shiny scarlet boots modeled after pawns. Completing the look were a matching striped choker necklace and bow around her waist, and a red and white checked pinafore. In addition to all of this, she wore a magnificent white gold crown inlaid with rubies, and, while one hand wielded a bloodstained sword, the other held a scepter that matched the crown. She smiled and spread both hands, letting everyone take in her appearance before she was collapsed flat by the effect of Tangram Flatland, reduced to an image that wouldn't be out of place on an Egyptian mural. (2,000 ATK)

Pegasus wiped a tear from his eye. "They grow up so fast," he sniffled.

"Uh...yeah," Bruno said, giving the ghost a strange look. "Well, Alice has multiple useful effects, and I'll start with the first: When she's Fusion Summoned, she negates the effects of all face-up Spells! Is that 'refreshing enough' for you?"

Teplotaxl's overly-spherical eyes bulged out. "What?!" he exclaimed. "No! You can't!"

"Come on, Queen Alice!" Bruno ordered. "Let's add some much-needed perspective to this world of flat ideas!"

With a laugh, Queen Alice raised her scepter and sent out a pulse of energy. The entire field began to wobble and shake, bulging like it was being inflated. The whole field began to rise upward, swelling at all sides. The green dots were growing into saplings, then trees. The white picket fences shot upward, piercing the air. Model houses and buildings sprouted up everywhere as the blueprint became a real-life town around them.

"Wow, this is some pretty good work with the holograms!" Kyon exclaimed, staring at the spectacle.

"Yeah," Rebecca agreed. "I mean, I've seen some awesome cards come to life, but this is something else! Pity we aren't filming it, though. Something like this you just have to see. You can't hear or read about it."

"Guess this is just one wonder we'll have to keep to ourselves…" Kyon said with a shrug.

With a girlish laugh, Queen Alice puffed up her cheeks and swelled. She shot up sideways, still two-dimensional but now standing up, before straining and crossing her eyes as she popped outward, back to how she was when she was first summoned.

"No!" Teplotaxl raged. "My beautiful, elegant two-dimensional world! You've ruined it!"

"Adding a new dimension hardly 'ruins'anything," Bruno lectured. "It's not my fault you can't handle looking at things from a new point of view. I, for one, like my characters and settings rounded, rather than flat. It's a pity your Tangrams don't qualify, though."

Indeed, the Tangram Cavalry hadn't changed one bit. It now stood upright, standing perpendicular to its master to make sure it was seen by everyone, but it was as flat and lifeless as ever, merely a collection of tiles rather than a living, breathing creature. It looked immensely uncomfortable holding itself up, and its tiles kept slipping apart, only to be tugged back in to maintain its shape.

"Your horseman can barely keep it together," the portly Shadowchaser laughed.

"Still stronger than your Queen!" Teplotaxl snapped.

"Not for long-or did you fail to notice that your Flatland wasn't the only card my Queen affected?"

Teplotaxl's eyes flew downward, then went wide, shifting back to the creepy, slit-pupiled ones that appeared after he blinked. "It can't be! My Candle and Key are falling apart!"

Indeed, the two Continuous Spells were no longer holding together, falling apart into fourteen separate tiles.

"Which means my set cards are no longer locked down, so I can do this! Activate Rising Energy! Make this petite powerhouse even more potent!"

As the card lifted, Bruno discarded one of his cards, and Queen Alice swelled with energy. (2,000 ATK) -) (3,500 ATK)

"Say that three times fast," the portly Shadowchaser laughed. "But why stop there? Next up is Queen Alice's second effect, which will take hold in a minute. Go ahead, my dear. Cast your spell!"

Queen Alice twirled her scepter and sword, and then aimed the first at Tangram Cavalry and fired a pulse of darkness. Soon, the collection of tiles could barely keep itself upright, pieces cracking, crumbling, and falling out every couple of seconds, only to be sucked back into the trembling, rickety construct. (2,950 ATK) -) (850 ATK)

"As you can see, her effect lets me lower the Attack Score of an opponent's monster by three hundred for every Dark monster in my Graveyard-in this case, seven. Now my Queen is over four times as strong as your horseman, so this should be over quick. Queen Alice, off with whatever passes for his head!"

Alice laughed and hopped a fence, lunging at the horseman's silhouette, slicing her sword and cutting off the square tile that represented the rider's head. The head clattered to the floor, followed by the rest of the silhouette.

(B: 1,650) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 4,850)

"This isn't Flatland, Teplotaxl," Bruno lectured. "Monsters aren't stuck in their place from birth to death, unable to shift their place in the world. Power can be seized, and it can be taken away. And it seems this little isosceles is overthrowing a circle."

"What?" Kyon asked.

"Read Flatland," Bruno said over his shoulder. "It makes sense."

"Except that you're the most circular thing here," Teplotaxl sniped. "I'm no stranger to power struggles, Bruno, or with what you call social Darwinism. I'm a Duke of Hell, in case you forgot. That's been the case there since the drafting of the Pact Primordial. And I know a thing or two about how to keep power!"

Bruno smiled back at the devil, taking in his frustration for a moment. Teplotaxl caught this and forced his face back into an angular grin. "Well, since you destroyed a Tangram Synchro," he pointed out, "I get to Special Summon a new one of a lower Level from my hand. I'll replace it with Tangram Bear."

The scattered tiles flew back into the air and rearranged, changing from purple to golden brown, a goofy face painted on one the medium-sized triangle. The tiles came together into a shape somewhat like a silhouette of a bear sitting down with his front paw held out. (2,150 ATK)

"And he's really bad news."

"I'm not afraid of what's obviously a bear of very little brain," Bruno joked.

"Insults won't work on me, boy," Teplotaxl replied. "I've memorized every Yo Mama joke in existence, and have written twenty more since I started this sentence."

"Whatever. I end my turn."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Yipe," said Sonya.

Her reaction was rather warranted. The chamber they had just entered - after forcing the door down - had been badly ransacked and vandalized, books, furniture and artwork torn to pieces.

But Sonya's reaction was obviously due to the chains. Obviously not an original feature of the castle, someone had bolted a mass of rusty chains to the ceiling and walls, all of them covered with barbs, hooks, and blades.

Z's voice sunk to a whisper. "Stay… calm…" he said. "No loud noises..."

As he took one step into the dark room, they and their sphinx companion saw two red pinpoints of light. Two dark, glaring eyes.The chains started to rattle a little.

"Don't look at them," he continued. "Don't panic…"

He'd later give the full explanation of what chain devils were - Hell's torturers who used chains to flay and rend damned souls, and how fear and terror strengthened them. For now, Sonya was trying her hardest not to panic in front of this one, who clearly did its job very well.

And she couldn't. As they slowly walked in, she let out a nervous grunt, which turned into a scream as one of them darted towards her like a bladed snake.

Then, there was an unholy howl of pain as Z drew his weapon, cleaving it in two.

"That's right, ugly," he goaded, "over here!"

More of them snaked towards him, and Monika struck next, pouncing and grabbing an armful of them. She growled a little, but gave a powerful yank, ripping them from their moorings along with part of the ceiling.

"Monika!' shouted Sonya.

It hadn't been the best idea, clearly, as Monika was bleeding from several cuts to her forearms.

Then the remaining chains parted, and they could see the creature more clearly. It was like a mummy, just not wrapped in linen. The chains wrapped around every part of its body, dangling from its arms and dragging behind it like some shackle-rattle spirit.

Every part, that is, except those eyes…

Then, Sonya looked at it. Then she stared at it, her courage growing a little.

You want me to look away? She thought Never met something I couldn't stare down…

She sensed the creature could understand her intent, much like she could feel that it accepted the challenge. As Monika got up, she stared at the fiend without blinking, wondering whether or not she had lost her mind, and wondering even more if she'd have it by the time this was over.

Monika nodded to Z, then moved to the side, slipping into the shadows as Sonya already started to strain. Sweat formed on her brow, as she kept locked onto those cold, dark, inhuman eyes.

The sphinx roared, appearing behind the chain devil. It broke off its stare, but too late; the angry sphinx pounced and crushed it. Z caught Sonya as she collapsed from the strain.

"Damn…" she groaned.

"You bet, damn!" exclaimed Z. "That was a pretty gutsy move!"

"Hey, I once stared down a weeping angel for forty minutes," sighed Sonya. She was still shivering. "Piece of cake…"

Monika spat in disgust, having found out the hard way that devils taste terrible. "Medic!" she groaned.

Z tried very hard to keep from laughing. "Need a Lifesaver? That may help."

"Think I need the whole roll! What are these things made of?"

"Think we're better off not knowing." He gestured to the portal on the far end of the room. "Seems we did the job anyway."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"The worm turns, Teppy-boy," Pegasus laughed. "What's it like to be on the outside looking in?"

"I wouldn't know," the devil replied, drawing a card. "I still clearly have advantages in both field and Life Points. Your little-and I use the term loosely-friend still has a ways to go before I'm down and out. I won't surrender four Secret Names so easily.

"Hm...for my next move, I'll summon something I trust you'll find familiar. Come forth, Tangram Butterfly!"

Yet another set of tiles appeared, arranging themselves into a pair of black and orange butterfly wings. (50 ATK)

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen a monster with fifty Attack Points," Bruno mused. "Plenty with zero. Plenty with a hundred. But never fifty."

"Strange, right?" Teplotaxl said. "Well, it's a Tuner, and I'm making use of that."

Tangram Bear faded into five glowing stars, and Butterfly split into its seven components, turning gold and blue and absorbing the stars.

"Seven tiles rearranged create infinite possibilities!" the devil chanted. "Form the shape of an invulnerable protector!"

(*1 + *5 = *6)

"Synchro Summon...Tangram Goalie!"

The seven tiles collected into yet another new shape, this one of a human figure leaping up and to the side, extending its arm as if to block a shot. It was painted to look like it was wearing a jersey and shorts, and, like all the Tangrams, it had absolutely no facial features. The thing positioned itself horizontally before Teplotaxl, blocking him. (3,050 DEF)

"Over three thousand Defense Points?!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Not too shabby for a Level Six, eh?" the fiend chuckled. He ran his tongue over his little fang. "But it gets better. Because I used Tangram Butterfly for a Synchro Summon, I get to take a Spell or Trap with 'Tangram' in its name from my deck, and I have just the one in mind, too."

Teplotaxl removed his deck from the slot and fanned it out. He hummed to himself-Once Upon a Dream, Bruno and Rebecca noted with simultaneous growls-and selected a card. He replaced the deck and it was immediately shuffled. "And here's the card," he announced playing it. "Go, Tangram Hammer!"

Yet another collection of tiles materialized, these colored either black or brown. They arranged themselves into the shape of a framing hammer, which immediately slammed down onto Teplotaxl's field, shattering his now-inactive Candle and Key.

"What in the-?" Bruno objected, but before he could finish the hammer moved to his side of the field and smashed his set card.

"Tangram Hammer destroys two cards on my field and one on yours," Teplotaxl chuckled. "Then I get to draw a card. After all, I can't leave your Nightmare Mirror around, can I? Well," the fiend continued, still chortling. "Now I end my turn, which activates the effect of my Tangram Goalie. Namely, it deals you a hundred points of damage for every Tangram in my Graveyard!"

Kyon and Rebecca gasped, clinging to each other in fear. Even Queen Alice looked terrified.

"That's enough to finish him!" Pegasus cried with a gulp.

Bruno said nothing, but his expression said it all. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and his mouth went tight with resignation.

A single square tangram tile materialized beside the Goalie, who spun 360 degrees and slammed his foot into it, launching it at Bruno. Bruno's eyes went wide as the tile struck him and exploded, draining his Life Points.

(B: 350) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 4,850)

As the spectators saw the score, their jaws dropped in unison. Kyon and Rebecca finally released each other, but all of them were unable to speak.

"How-?" Bruno asked, staring at his Life Points.

Teplotaxl let out a vicious cackle. "Oh, sorry," he laughed. "I must've misspoken! I meant a hundred points for every Tangram monster in my Graveyard! Oh, I love that panicked look! That moment of truth when all hope dies! It's almost as good as claiming my trophy!"

"That was a dirty trick!" Kyon snapped. "I thought devils couldn't lie-they just tell misleading truth?"

"Nobody ever said we had to tell the complete truth," chuckled the fiend. "And we can lie, just like anybody else-just not when making a deal. You think Beelzebub got the title 'Lord of Lies' for honesty?"

"I thought he was the Lord of Flies!" Bruno said, raising an eyebrow.

"A misspelling by an exhausted scribe from the Dark Ages, but it was quickly adapted anyway. He found it added to his ominous nature, as it suggested even a fly couldn't escape his sight. Plus, you know, they're attracted to his odor. My point is, devils lie all the time. We just can't do it when making a deal. Anyway, von Klein, it's your turn, and your Queen's effect won't help you break through a defensive wall. What will you do?"

Bruno sighed and drew a card, then immediately played it. "I activate Aggressive Reshuffle," he reported as its hologram sprung up. "Now I shuffle every card soldier in my Graveyard into my deck and draw a card for each, plus one more for luck. And, in addition to the Club Guard you destroyed, I've discarded Heart Guard and Spade Guard during the duel."

He selected the three cards and shuffled them into his deck, then drew four. Not bad, he thought. He slapped one of them down onto his Disk. "I summon the White Rabbit!" he announced.

The familiar form of the well-dressed bunny bounded onto the field, keeping an eye on his pocket watch. (1,400 ATK)

"And it doesn't take a genius to know what's next!" the portly Shadowchaser continued. "It's time for a tune-up of my own!"

The White Rabbit and Queen Alice turned to each other and nodded, then jumped into the air. The White Rabbit faded into three glowing rings, the Queen of Despairland into seven shining stars. The stars lined up within the rings, and everything glowed even brighter.

"Ever drifting down the stream-

Lingering in the golden gleam-

Life, what is it but a dream?"

(*3 + *7 = *10)

"Synchro Summon...The Red King!"

In a flash of light, Bruno's most powerful monster-the tiny, sleeping boy monarch in red pajamas-materialized, casually resting his head against a picket fence as he snoozed away. (4,000 ATK)

"Well, looks like you know what this card does too, right?"

It did seem like that, as Teplotaxl was looking at the King with eyes as large as saucers. He simply nodded in reply.

"I gotta say, Teplotaxl, in a strange way, I owe you something of a debt. See, I've been so obsessed with chasing excitement after losing to some attention hog of a showman, I forgot what my priorities were. I gotta say, this duel is definitely one of my most exciting."

"You're welcome," Teplotaxl replied, regaining his smug, ramrod-straight composure.

"That wasn't really a compliment. Just an…observation. This duel is exciting, what with strange new cards and high stakes, but the truth is, it isn't very fun. I guess challenges aren't everything, are they? You've helped me realize how petty and neglectful I've been of things that really count. In fact…" he trailed off, his eyes going wide with realization. "Come to think of it, I may have just figured out that dream! I've been getting it backwards this whole time! It's not about how the world is becoming too dull for me! It's a warning, telling me to slow down and enjoy myself! Teodahr represents thrilling myself into an early death! The others are becoming petrified because, well, what lasts longer than stone?"

He stared back at Pegasus and Rebecca for confirmation. Pegasus just shrugged. Rebecca wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Oh, it feels good to figure that out!" Bruno laughed, in spite of their reactions. "Like a knot I've finally untied! All the energy I wasted on this silly obsession could have been better used on the important things. Like dealing with ugly monsters like YOU!"

Teplotaxl gave an exaggerated gasp, holding his nose high as if Bruno had offended him. "You call me a monster after I help you with such a critical epiphany?" he demanded. "Well, that's gratitude for you! And having the nerve to insult my appearance, too! I must say, you're awfully confident for somebody who has yet to win the duel."

"Well, let's fix that then," said Bruno, his smile fading. "In case you haven't noticed, four thousand is higher than three thousand and fifty. So your keeper is about to receive a red card. Red King, destroy Tangram Goalie with the most powerful of forces! Imagination!"

The Red King shuddered slightly, like he was having a nightmare, but didn't wake. Soon, the field began to vibrate, then rumble. The ground rocked beneath the group, and buildings toppled around them in the quake. The Goalie was tossed head over heels before clattering to the ground, splitting into his component pieces just before the shaking stopped.

"I know your Red King's ability," Teplotaxl said with a glare. "So I won't bother summoning anything with my Goalie's effect."

At his words, the seven tiles exploded into pixels.

"Fine by me," Bruno chuckled. "I'm far from done."

"I know, I know," Teplotaxl sighed. "You'll use your King's effect do destroy everything on the field and revive one of your monsters. Waste of a move, really. The only card on my field is my Tangram Flatland, and you already negated its effect."

Bruno smiled back. "Then I guess you'd be wrong for the first time in over twelve hundred years!" he laughed. "Because I'm not activating my King's effect at all!"

"What?!" the fiend exclaimed. For the first time, he didn't look like he was in complete control.

"Why would I? You just said it's pointless. Instead, I'll set these two cards…"

Two facedown cards appeared behind the Red King.

"And activate my Double Spell card!" He played the last card, discarding Queen's Invitation with it. "Now I can copy a Spell in your Graveyard! And I know just which one I want, too! Go, Impact Revive!"

Double Spell's image shifted into a duplicate of the aforementioned Spell and let out a glow before disappearing. To Teplotaxl's horror, Tangram Goalie reappeared on his field, spinning clockwise for seemingly no reason. (950 ATK) -) (1,450 ATK)

"It figures a monster so good on defense would be lousy on offense. And now I get one more Battle Phase! Imagination!"

It was hard to describe what happened next. As the Red King snored and thrashed, reality turned upside-down, inside-out, and back to front at the same time. Bruno and his allies heard laughing amid a brisk wind, as their surroundings turned bright and colorful.

But then it changed. The laughter turned into a sinister and malicious cackle and the colors horribly bright. The wind became stinging and chilling. Teplotaxl felt it worse; a horrible, nagging pain boring into his skull.

He looked towards Red King, seeing two pinpoints of light through haze that might have been the monarch's eyes. Slowly twisting into an expression that, thankfully, Bruno couldn't see from his view.

It was impossible to discern what actually happened to Tangram Goalie. His owner, however, screamed...

(B: 350) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 2,350)

Bruno closed his eyes and held his chest, sweat beading on his forehead. "Damn, that was a new one." He turned to the Red King, still off in the land of Nod. "Don't do that one again. Ever. Seriously. I'm begging you."

The Red King gave no indication he'd heard Bruno. He just let out a loud snore and turned on his side.

Back on Teplotaxl's side, his Goalie had collapsed back into his component tiles.

"Some people have dreams best left unexplored," said Pegasus, ominously.

"Jarring as that was, it does change things," Teplotaxl pointed out. "Namely, since you have no more Main Phases left, I have no fear in Special Summoning a new Tangram to take my Goalie's place. I'll choose Tangram Duck."

The tiles changed color once more, now police tape yellow, except for the two small triangles, which were orange. They rearranged themselves into the silhouette of a small waterfowl, proudly displaying their new form. (850 DEF)

"Not much of a monster," Bruno said, staring at the new shape. "Whatever. I end my turn."

"It has its uses," Teplotaxl replied, moving in a perfectly symmetrical manner to cup his face in his hands. "You of all people should know that every card does. But I digress. Draw!"

The fiend snatched up another card in his well-manicured talons and examined his hand. "Hm...good enough, I suppose," he observed. "It's time for me to end this. First, I'll summon a second Tangram Camel."

Yet more tiles erupted onto the field, arranging themselves into a familiar humped form. (1,650 ATK)

"Next, I activate the effect of my Tangram Butterfly. Since I previously used it to Synchro Summon a Tangram, and currently have a Tangram on my field, I can Special Summon it."

The fluttering set of wings arranged themselves from yet another set of tiles. (50 ATK)

"As much as I hate to repeat myself, I'll use these three to perform one last Synchro Summon. Come together, my servants! You may have benched my Tangram Goalie, but I can have them form a relief player! Arise!"

(*1 + *2 + *3 = *6)

The Duck and Camel faded away, absorbing into the Butterfly as it broke down into its basic components, then rearranging and changing color, bringing back the familiar shape of a diving goalkeeper. (3,050 DEF)

"All I have to do is end my turn, and-"

"We won't make it that far!" Bruno interrupted. His hand flew to his Disk, and his set card lifted, exposing a Trap with a Tenniel illustration of Alice staring at a bottle labeled "DRINK ME". "Activate Trap! Out Like a Candle! I'll destroy my own Red King to take its Attack Score from your Goalie!"

White kid gloves materialized around Bruno's hands, and a fan appeared within one. Tumbling over in his sleep, the Red King managed to roll into the Tangram Goalie and cling to him like a teddy bear. The Goalie wriggled and writhed, even trying to break himself into pieces, but the Red King's grip was inescapable.

Chuckling at this, Bruno waved his fan their way. With each wave, both monsters shrunk, growing to miniscule size before both disappeared entirely.

"Von Klein…" growled the fiend, "you're seriously starting to annoy me!"

"Yeah, guys like me tend to have that effect on unholy abominations like yourself," answered the Shadowchaser.

"I can see why Alice in Despairland chose you. You're exactly like Pegasus."

Everyone stared at Pegasus, who shrugged. "Well, there are worse comparisons, Bruno-boy," he chuckled.

"Well," the Shadowchaser continued, "with the destruction of our monsters, both of us gets to summon a new monster via their abilities. I'll bring back Alice, the Queen of Despairland!"

Alice's regal, chess-themed form returned to the field, hefting her sword and scepter. (2,000 ATK)

"And I'll summon the last monster in my hand," Teplotaxl announced. "Another Tangram Bear!"

Yet more tiles collected on the floor, cobbling together into the familiar form of a sitting bear's silhouette. (2,150 ATK)

"Still my turn, I believe," the devil sneered, "and it looks like my all-purpose tiles have you beat! Tangram Bear, rend his Queen asunder! Ursa Melee!"

The silhouette hovered in midair for a moment, dead silent, before turning its edge on the Queen and swooping forward. She screamed as it flew directly through her with its sharpened edge, splitting her straight down her spine. Seconds later, both halves exploded into pixels.

(B: 200) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 2,350)

"Time to get back to basics." Bruno snapped his fingers and a rather…familiar monster appeared in the destroyed Fusion's place. (0 DEF)

"What the -" said Teplotaxl.

"Nope, you're not seeing double," said Bruno. Alice's 'clone' actually smirked and waved at the fiend from her position. "Mainly because she's the only one on the field. The point is, when Queen Alice is destroyed, she lets me summon the original version.

"I assume there's a point to this. On the field she's not even as strong as Effect Veiler."

"Everything's got a moral, if you only can find it," Bruno quoted. "Besides, not five minutes ago, you yourself said that every card can be useful. And I have faith in Alice."

"Thank you, Bruno," Alice said with a wink.

"Well, defending will do you no good!" Teplotaxl sneered. "My Tangram Bear has a piercing effect! I hadn't expected it this way, but next turn I'll finally finish you!

"So, von Klein," he continued, his voice growing dangerously soft. "Are you nervous? Are you panicked? Judging by your health records, I'd say you're dangerously close to a heart attack, knowing as you do that in one more move, I'll claim the souls of you and your friends-and also a were-ermine. There have been a few bumps along this road, but I knew before we had even begun that I would claim your True Name."

Bruno stared back at the fiend, still not talking.

"It's so adorable when mortals think they can manipulate their own destinies better than beings like me. The truth is I've come to know you, Bruno. I can read every line of your face, every subtle movement. I know you're betting on your set card, and you don't have complete faith that it will work. I can tell you're practically pissing yourself with fear upon facing an intellect so far above your own that it's utterly immune to your bluffs and mind games. Your set card is Trials of the New Queen, isn't it? A lively little guessing game. One that I will win.

"Am I right, Bruno? Actually, don't answer. I know I am. And I know you don't have a prayer. So draw your card and let's end this farce."

Bruno lifted his hand to draw his card, then stopped. His hand hovered, and his mischievous grin spread across his face.

I just had the craziest idea, he thought.

"Know what Teplotaxl?" he finally said. "You're absolutely right. I can't trick you. Which is why I'm not even going to try."

Still smirking, the Shadowchaser yanked the card from the top of his deck, only to hold it behind his back, facing away from the spectators. He never even bothered to look.

"You were right about the identity of my Trap, of course," he continued. His set card lifted up, revealing the familiar Tenniel illustration of Alice with her crown and scepter, sitting between the Red and White Queens. "You'd be sure to test the waters by drawing it out, checking my reactions to your words. I've trained myself for months to conceal my tells, but you'd find them anyway. So the only thing to do is leave myself entirely in the dark. You can't draw blood from this stone, Teplotaxl. Now make your guess. Is my card a monster, a Spell, or a Trap?"

"Wait, that's not…" started the fiend.

"I'll tell you right now as this game's designer," interrupted Pegasus, "that there is NO rule on whether you're required to look at what you draw. So guess."

Teplotaxl looked with stony silence, his eyes boring a hole through his opponent, desperately hoping to see the card beyond.

"Not so nice to be on this side of a difficult decision, is it?" Bruno taunted. "Actually having to rely on luck for a change. After all, choose right and you'll win for sure. But if you choose wrong, you'll be wide open. And all the invasive psychology and smug bragging in the world won't help you.

"Chance is something you devils hate, isn't it? So well-regulated and orderly, having fought Chaos your entire immortal lives. The mere thought of having to rely on it just sickens you, doesn't it? For once not being able to see all the sides and angles?"

Teplotaxl bared a mouth full of sharpened teeth, glaring at Bruno. "Yes," he admitted. "In fact, it's agonizing. But it isn't pure luck. I still have my brilliant mind, and I can still analyze the odds. In this duel, sixteen of the cards in your main deck are now located elsewhere, be it the Graveyard, banished pile, et cetera. Five of them were monsters, five were Traps, and six were Spells. Assuming that the card or cards that your spirit friends replaced were replaced by cards of the same sort-"

"That's a dangerous assumption," Bruno pointed out, but Teplotaxl carried on as if he hadn't spoken.

"-then that means of your forty-card deck, based on what I know of you and your proclivity for Spells, means that your deck contains five Traps, five Spells, and fourteen monsters. In other words, there is a 20.8333 percent chance each of a Spell or Trap, and a whopping 58.333 percent chance of a monster-more than half!"

"You sure?" snarked Bruno.

"Math doesn't lie! The odds are on my side! My guess is monster!"

Bruno raised an eyebrow, but kept smiling as he moved his hand from behind his back. Nobody could breathe as he flipped the card around.

Bruno's grin split even wider. He flipped it forward. "Guess you miscalculated."

The card had the green border of a Spell, and the image was a Tenniel illustration that had yet to appear on the island. It depicted the Red Queen, shrunken to the size of a doll, her features ugly and bulging as she was gripped tightly in Alice's hands.

Trials of the New Queen glowed, and a gaping hole opened beneath the Tangram Bear, right in the beautifully manicured lawn of what was once Tangram Flatland. Through the force of a vacuum, the collection of tiles was forcibly sucked down, down, to its demise.

"You-you still don't have the power to defeat me!" Teplotaxl pointed out in desperation. "Alice in Despairland doesn't have any Attack Points!"

"That's true," Bruno said with a shrug. "But there are ways around that, and the card I just drew is one of them. Pegasus and Alice made this just for me, and it's perfect. It's called Dream Paradox!"

He slammed the card into his Disk, and a larger version sprung up next to him.

"Using this card costs me half of my Life Points-" Bruno began, and his Life Points dipped.

(B: 100) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 2,350)

"-but when that's done, I begin by selecting a Dark monster on my field, and destroying it!"

Alice winked and dissolved into formless, wispy smoke without a trace of fear.

"You destroy your last monster?!" Teplotaxl demanded.

"In order to bring out my last last monster! Because when that's done, I get to bring back a very different Dark monster from my Graveyard! And I think you know exactly which one I want!"

The mist collected, colored, and solidified, taking the familiar form of a sleeping boy with an oversized crown. (4,000 ATK)

Alice's specter then appeared beside Bruno and waved her hand at the Red King. The little boy shivered, but otherwise seemed unchanged. (4,000 ATK) -) (4,200 ATK)

"Finish him, Red King!" Bruno ordered. "Imagination!"

The little monarch shuddered and snored, not quite awakening, but he was the only one at peace. The spectators stared at Teplotaxl, preparing for the worst. After all, what horror could the Red King create that could be painful or terrifying enough for an actual devil from the pits of Hell?

(B: 100) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 0)

"I… I lost," sputtered the devil. He collapsed to his knees as the Duel Disks shut down.

"Beaten…by a mortal…I lost…lost…"

Rebecca and Kyon were speechless, simply staring at each other and shrugging.

"Beaten…lost…"

"Well, what do you know?" said Pegasus. "The fear that keeps a mighty Duke of Hell awake at night… fear of failure…"

"Lost…" moaned the devil again.

"Yeah, you sure did," sighed Bruno. He turned away from the babbling wreck Teplotaxl had become.

"So, uh, what do we do with him?" asked Kyon.

"What do you think?" asked Bruno. He looked down at the fiend, who seemed a lot less intimidating than before. His Disk deactivated, the tray retracting. "I think the gentleman owes us something, RIGHT Teplotaxl? WELL?"

The devil's incoherent lamenting turned into something that, while still incoherent, sounded vulgar and foul. "All right, all right," he said with a scowl. "Can't believe I'm doing this… Like I said, I can answer anything. Make it quick."

"Not yet," Bruno told him. "First, you have to open the exit."

Teplotaxl rolled his eyes again and waved his hand. A doorway reappeared behind Rebecca. "There. That'll take you back to the vault. But don't expect to find anything helpful there. Now, your question?"

Bruno took a moment to think about this. He gazed around the room, looking first at Rebecca, who caught his eye and scowled, then at Pegasus and Alice (who had reappeared when the duel ended) with twin looks of hope, and then back at Teplotaxl and his vicious sneer. He nodded in resignation.

"Okay. I've made my decision. And, as agreed, no tricks."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Snake (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl3/1,250 ATK/850 DEF

Effect: When this card is used as a material for a Synchro Summon, you can switch the Battle Position of a monster on your opponent's field.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Bat (Effect Monster)

Rock-Tuner/Wind/Lvl2/250 ATK/450 DEF

Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand by switching the Battle Position of a face-up Tangram monster on your field. The selected monster's Battle Position cannot be changed until the End Phase, except by card effects.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Horse (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl5/1,850 ATK/1,450 DEF

Effect: During your Main Phase, you can tribute this card to Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Tangram monsters from your deck. The selected monsters cannot be tributed or used as Synchro materials this turn.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Camel (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl3/1,650 ATK/1,750 DEF

Effect: During your Main Phase, you can select one face-up Spell or Trap Card on your field. Send it to your Graveyard. Afterwards, you can change the Battle Position of a face-up monster on the field, and either raise or lower one of its scores by 300.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Turtle (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl4/350 ATK/2050 DEF

Effect: At the end of your Battle Phase, you can switch all monsters on your field that attacked into Defense Mode.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Crab (Effect Monster)

Rock-Tuner/Wind/Lvl3/750 ATK/1,150 DEF

Effect: When this card is used as a material for a Synchro Summon and sent to the Graveyard: Draw 1 card.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Fox (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl3/1,350 ATK/1,450 DEF

Effect: When this card is Special Summoned, draw 1 card.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Vulture (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl2/650 ATK/950 DEF

Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Tangram monster from your Graveyard.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Butterfly (Effect Monster)

Rock-Tuner/Wind/Lvl1/50 ATK/150 DEF

Effect: When this card is used as a Synchro Material and sent to the Graveyard, you can select 1 Tangram Spell or Trap from your deck and add it to your hand, then shuffle your deck. If this card is in your Graveyard and you have a Tangram monster on your field, you can Special Summon it. When this card leaves the field after using this effect, it is banished. You can only activate one effect of Tangram Butterfly per turn, and only once that turn.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Bear (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl5/2,150 ATK/2,050 DEF

Effect: When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Duck (Effect Monster)

Rock/Wind/Lvl2/450 ATK/850 DEF

Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can lower the Level of a Tangram on your field by 1.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Skater (Synchro Monster)

1 Tangram Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

Rock/Wind/Lvl5/2,250 ATK/1,950 DEF

Effect: When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. When this card is destroyed in battle or by card effect and sent to your Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Tangram monster from your hand.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Runner (Synchro Monster)

1 Tangram Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

Rock/Wind/Lvl6/2,450 ATK/2,150 DEF

Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can switch the Battle Position of a monster on your opponent's field (Flip effects are not activated at this time). When this card is destroyed in battle or by card effect and sent to your Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Tangram monster from your hand.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Cavalry (Synchro Monster)

1 Tangram Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

Rock/Wind/Lvl8/2,950 ATK/2,450 DEF

Effect: When this card attacks, you can switch the Battle Position of the target monster (Flip effects are not activated). When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. When this card is destroyed in battle or by card effect and sent to your Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Level 7 or lower Tangram monster from your hand.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Goalie (Synchro Monster)

1 Tangram Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

Rock/Wind/Lvl6/950 ATK/3,050 DEF

Effect: During your End Phase, inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the number of Tangram monsters in your Graveyard x 100 points. When this card is destroyed in battle or by card effect and sent to your Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Tangram monster from your hand.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Candle (Continuous Spell)

Image: Sickly yellow tangram tiles arranged in the shape of a burning candle.

Effect: Once per turn, you can select a set Spell/Trap on your opponent's field. Reveal it, then reset it. Non-Tangram monsters cannot attack on the turn you use this effect.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Key (Continuous Spell)

Image: Golden tangram tiles arranged in the shape of a key.

Effect: Once per turn, you can select a set Spell/Trap on your opponent's field and guess its identity. Reveal it, then reset it. If you are right, that card cannot be activated while this card is face-up on the field. If you are wrong, destroy this card.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Fall (Normal Trap)

Image: Two sets of orange tangram tiles arranged in the shape of two human figures in mid-fall.

Effect: When a Tangram monster on your field is destroyed in battle, select two Level 4 or lower Tangram monsters in your deck. Special Summon them, then shuffle your deck.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Hammer (Normal Spell)

Image: Brown and black tangram tiles arranged in the shape of a hammer.

Effect: Destroy 2 face-up Tangram cards on your field and 1 card on your opponent's field. Then draw 1.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tangram Flatland (Field Spell)

Image: A bird's-eye view of a city, where you can see the insides of buildings.

Effect: Non-Tangram monsters cannot change their Battle Positions, except by card effects.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The Lion and the Unicorn (Xyz Monster)

2 Level 5 Dark monsters

Beast-Warrior/Dark/Rank 5/2,700 ATK/2,400 DEF

Effect: Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to allow this card to attack twice this turn.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Dream Paradox (Normal Spell)

Image: A Tenniel illustration of Alice holding the now doll-sized Red Queen.

Effect: Pay half your Life Points, then select 1 Dark monster on your field. Destroy it, then select and Special Summon a different Dark monster from your Graveyard. During your End Phase, destroy the summoned monster and Special Summon the original monster.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Mad Fusion (Normal Spell)

Image: Similar to Polymerization, but with goofy cartoon faces swirling in the vortex.

Effect: Select a Fusion monster in your Extra Deck. Select from your field and/or Graveyard the proper Fusion Materials and shuffle them into your deck. Then Fusion Summon the selected monster. When this card is in your Graveyard, you can discard 2 cards to add it to your hand.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Queen Alice of Despairland (Fusion Monster)

Alice in Despairland + Alice the Warden of Wonderland

Spellcaster/Dark/Lvl7/2,000 ATK/1,700 DEF

Effect: When this card is Fusion Summoned, negate the effects of all face-up Spell Cards on the field. During your Main Phase, you can select a monster on your opponent's field and reduce its ATK by the number of Dark monsters in your Graveyard x 300 points. When this card is destroyed by battle or card effect, you can Special Summon one "Alice in Despairland" from your hand, deck, or Graveyard.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Impact Revive (Normal Spell)

Image: A muscular giant bursting out of the ground in a graveyard.

Effect: Activate only during your Main Phase 2. Select and Special Summon 1 monster from either player's Graveyard that was destroyed by battle this turn to its respective owner's side of the field, ignoring the Summoning conditions. It gains 500 ATK. You can conduct another Battle Phase this turn.

Note: This card was first used by Dartz in "A Duel with Dartz-Part 5". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

Some people might call me crazy for betraying something as powerful, mean, and petty as an Archduke of Hell. Those same people might call me crazy for partnering up with Tiamat, a goddess whose reputation is built on betrayal, vengeance and ruthless elimination of failures.

My response to that is: Of course I'm crazy. That's half the fun of the game!

And I've been playing the game well. Levistus screwed himself over and is as weak as he's going to get. Time to step up and take center stage as the final villain. All that's left between me and the best duels I'll ever have is a second-rate demon possessing a third-rate duelist using a fourth rate-deck.

I'd say it be easy, but I know better than to underestimate the underdog. Good guy or bad, they always have the best luck.

Pity for Gorratch that my skill is better than his luck.

Next Chapter: Ojamuscle